Top IoT Platforms for Developers

Picking a platform is often not easy. If you are new to the area of IoT, knowing what platform to choose is even harder if you don’t know what criteria to review to pick that platform. With literally hundreds of companies offering of IoT platforms and IoT tools, deciding on a single vendor has never been so challenging. In this article, IoT Platforms and Tools are identified that are worth reviewing if you plan to move into IoT development.

Evaluating the Top IoT Platforms

In evaluating IoT platforms, a number of criteria were reviewed. Seven different aspects considered important were researched. Details on these areas are covered in the article “Developer’s Guide to Evaluating IoT Platforms.” The areas covered are:

  • IoT Hardware Support
  • IoT OS Support
  • Key Sensor Support
  • IoT Data Considerations
  • IoT Security Considerations
  • Development and Deployment Considerations
  • Cost and Licensing of IoT Platforms and Solutions

The following are some of the top IoT Platforms. I’ll provide a high-level overview of each in this article. Additionally, for each, a link to a more detailed article is provided that breaks out the seven areas mentioned above.

Without further delay, the top five IoT Platforms we are presenting are:

  • Windows IoT Core
  • Thingworx
  • Predix
  • Watson IoT
  • Carriots

Top IoT Platform: Windows 10 IoT Core

The Windows 10 IoT Core logo
Windows 10 IoT Core is an IoT-optimized version of Windows 10 that uses Visual Studio and the Arduino Wiring API. Arduino is an open source device platform, with an active community who are creating compatible development boards and tooling. Device capabilities vary across the official Arduino models, and also among the dozens of third-party compatible boards. It runs on a few different boards, including Raspberry Pi 2.

Read the full review, “IoT Development Platforms: Windows 10 IoT Core Overview.”

Top IoT Platform: Thingworx

The Thingworx logoPTC acquired ThingWorx, creators of an award-winning platform for building and running applications for the Internet of Things (IoT), for approximately $112 million in December of 2013. The acquisition of ThingWorx positioned PTC as a major player in the emerging Internet of Things arena.

Thingworx is a platform for the rapid development and deployment of smart, connected devices. Its set of integrated IoT development tools supports connectivity, analysis, production, and other aspects of IoT development.

It offers Vuforia for implementing augmented reality development, and Kepware for industrial connectivity. KEPServerEX provides a single point for data distribution, and facilitates interoperability when partnered with a ThingWorx agent.

ThingWorx is the only enterprise-ready technology platform that enables innovators to rapidly develop and deploy smart, connected solutions for the Internet of Things.

Developers can create IoT solutions that are scalable, secure, and meet the needs of large enterprise-level companies. Read the full review, “IoT Development Platform: Thingworx Overview.”

Top IoT Platform: Predix

The Predix logoPredix is an industrial IoT platform specifically designed for the unique and complex challenges of industrial data. General Electric (GE) initially created Predix to drive their own businesses devices spanning over 10 industries from aviation to utilities. In fact, Predix began as a tool to monitor products sold.

Geared towards industrial instruments, Predix provides a Cloud-based PaaS (platform as a service), which enables industrial-grade analytics for operations optimization and performance management. Moreover, it connects data, individuals, and equipment in a standard way.

Read the full review, “IoT Development Platforms: Predix Overview.”

Top IoT Platform: Watson IoT

The Watson IoT logoIBM Watson IoT Platform for Bluemix provides a versatile toolkit that includes gateway devices, device management, and powerful application access. By using Watson IoT Platform, you can collect connected device data and perform analytics on real-time data.

The IBM Watson IoT Platform is a fully managed, Cloud-hosted service that provides device management capabilities as well as data collection and management in a time series format. As part of IBM’s Platform as a Service offering, IBM Bluemix, you can use the IBM Watson IoT Platform to rapidly build IoT apps from the catalog of services available in IBM Bluemix. You can choose from such IoT app options as storage services, rules, analytics services, stream analytics, machine learning, visualization, and user apps (Web or mobile). You also can embed cognitive capabilities in your IoT apps by using IBM Watson services available in IBM Bluemix.

The IBM Watson services in IBM Bluemix
Figure 1: The IBM Watson services in IBM Bluemix

Read the full review, “IoT Development Platforms: IBM Watson IoT Overview.”

Top IoT Platform: Carriots

The Carriots logoCarriots is a Platform as a Service (PaaS) designed for Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine to Machine (M2M) projects. It enables the collection and storage of data from connected objects (things), and helps build powerful applications with few lines of code as well as integration with external IT systems.

Carriots provides a development environment, APIs, and hosting for IoT projects development that automatically scales to meet any demand, from several to several million devices.

Carriots' various features
Figure 2: Carriots’ various features

Read the full review, “IoT Development Platforms: Carriots Overview.”

Conclusion

In this article, five contenders were presented with links to detailed information to help you see their value. Don’t make any decisions just yet! In the next installment, five more worthy choices are going to be presented that you might want to consider as well.

Robert Gravelle
Robert Gravelle
Rob Gravelle resides in Ottawa, Canada, and has been an IT guru for over 20 years. In that time, Rob has built systems for intelligence-related organizations such as Canada Border Services and various commercial businesses. In his spare time, Rob has become an accomplished music artist with several CDs and digital releases to his credit.

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